


An Equal and Opposite Reaction

by southsidewrites



Series: A Lesson in Chemistry [2]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Forgiveness, Love, Love Triangle, Northsider Reader, Oral Sex, Post School-Merger AU, Reader-Insert, Romance, Secret Relationship, Sequel, Sex, Smut, southside serpents, teen drama, unlikely friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-07 15:12:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17368274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/southsidewrites/pseuds/southsidewrites
Summary: Two weeks ago, you made your choice--you dumped Reggie Mantle to give your explosive new relationship with Sweet Pea a chance.  Now, you're learning that for every action, there's going to be an equal and opposite reaction.Their stares were like bullets, shooting through you with zero regard for what vital organs they might hit along the way.  No one seemed to understand why you’d made the choice you did, why you’d thrown away a perfectly good relationship with football superstar Reggie Mantle for some kid from the wrong side of the tracks.  Worse than that, no one wanted to understand.  No one gave a damn that you couldn’t just ignore your feelings and live a lie—that the decision had nearly ripped you in two.  All they cared about was proving to you exactly how wrong of a decision they thought it was.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, I never thought this day would come. I had no intention of writing this sequel, yet here I am. Fair warning, it's a bit angstier than the original, but hey, there's still plenty of smut to make up for it.
> 
> To new readers, you could probably get by without reading the original, but I would highly recommend it--it's a pretty quick read, and you can read it [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14575251/chapters/33681048)
> 
> As always, thanks so much to everyone for reading! This story has always been so much fun to work on, and I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Part One Warning: SMUT

 

* * *

Sweet Pea’s lips dragged down your neck, and you had to stifle a low moan as his hand slipped into your pants. “Please, Sweet Pea,” you begged breathlessly. “Stop being such a fucking tease.”

He smirked, his lips still hot against your neck as he dragged his fingers along your sensitive core. “What, princess?  Are you a little turned on?”

Seeing as he could clearly feel the evidence of your arousal, you didn’t dignify him with an answer.  Instead, you bucked your hips, lowering your hand to his bulge and feeling it through his jeans. “Looks like I’m not the only one.”

He bit back a moan, returning his lips to yours hungrily. “I need to be inside you.”

“Do you have a condom?”

“Do I have a condom?” he scoffed, his breath nearly catching in his throat as you pressed harder on the front of his pants. “C’mon, babe.  Have you ever known me to come unprepared?”

You rolled your eyes and broke away from him to pull your shirt over your head. “Well, hurry up and get it on because class is going to be starting soon, and if I’m late again, I’m going to get a detention.”

“Babe, it’s just Chemistry,” he replied with a smirk, tugging off his own shirt. “And I think we both know plenty about that.”

Even though he had used the joke close to a million times, it still made you smile.  Quickly, you tossed the rest of your clothes on the ground and pulled him close for another kiss.  Without breaking your lips away from his, you started pushing his jeans down his legs.  He kicked them off the rest of the way, and then you were both naked, your back pressed hard against the door behind you.  He slid the condom on and rubbed his hardness against you, earning a breathy moan.

You gripped his shoulders, and he smacked your ass hard.  Taking the hint, you jumped, tossing your legs around him and groaning as his erection ground against you.  Slowly, you kissed your way down his Serpent tattoo as he pressed inside you.

“Fuck, babe, you feel so fucking good,” he groaned, his eyes squeezing shut. “ _Holy shit._ ”

A whimper escaped the back of your throat, and your nails dug into his back. “More.”

“Gladly.” He thrust in the rest of the way, slamming your back into the door almost painfully and filling you completely. “How’s that feel, princess?”

You could practically hear his smirk as you buried your face in his shoulder, stifling a series of moans.  You held on tight as he pounded into you, hitting the perfect spot and sending shockwaves of pleasure through your body.

His hands slid up your ass to your hips, gripping tightly and pushing you down harder onto him.  “That’s it beautiful, you look gorgeous taking my cock like that.”

His words had their intended effect, and you shuddered against him, your orgasm building.  “So good, Sweets,” you murmured, moving your hands to his face to pull him in close for a kiss. “So fucking good.”

He smiled through the kiss, moving one hand to your jaw to cup your face as he kissed you.  His thrusting slowed as he lost himself in the kiss, in your touch.  His thumb brushed against your clit, and you tensed, your orgasm hitting you like a tidal wave, crashing over you and drowning out any other sensations.  You vaguely felt Sweet Pea freeze inside you, his jaw slacking as he came hard with a low moan.

Slowly, he slid you off him, and you dropped your feet to the ground, still leaning against him for support since your shaky legs didn’t seem capable of holding you.  Sweet Pea pressed his forehead into yours, kissing you lazily.

“Can we just stay in here forever?” you whispered, wrapping your arms around him.  His skin was hot under your fingertips, his muscles slowly relaxing under your touch.

“I’m not opposed, babe, but that would almost certainly get you that detention you were so worried about.” He smirked. “You’re too good sometimes.”

You rolled your eyes and kissed him again. “It just fucking sucks out there right now.”

“I know.” He pressed a soft kiss into your forehead. “I know.”

“It’s been two weeks, Pea,” you said, hating how whiny your voice was sounding.  “Shouldn’t they be over it by now?”

“They should be,” he agreed. “I have a good feeling about today, though.  Like you said, it’s been two weeks.  Even the horrible, awful, terrible students of Riverdale High can’t still care about what we did, right?”

“I think you underestimate the vindictiveness of bored, suburban rich kids,” you replied, shaking your head. “Anyways, you’ve been saying that for close to a week now.”

“Well, I’m bound to be right eventually.” He kissed you softly. “Now, we better get dressed and get to class before we _both_ get detentions.”

“Do we really have to?” you whined.

“Babe, you may be cute, but even you can’t get away with whining this much.” He reached down and started scooping up your clothes, shoving them into your chest. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Rolling your eyes, you pulled your clothes on and used your phone as a mirror to check how much of a number Sweet Pea had done of your hair.  He wrapped his arms around your waist, brushing your hair aside to kiss your neck. “You look beautiful.”

“If you say so, Pea.”

“I do say so.  Now, let’s go do this.”

* * *

 

As always, you and Sweet Pea split ways once you left the closet.  It was bad enough to have everyone staring at you, and you could only imagine how much worse it would be if people knew you were regularly fucking in an abandoned supply closet.  You could only take so much of the whispers.

As you reached the main hallway, the stares felt like bullets, slamming into you from all sides as you walked.  Sure, they had subsided a little in two weeks, but they were clearly still there—you could practically hear them whispering when you focused on it. 

The worst part, though, was your friends.  At least, the people you used to think were your friends.  The only person who really talked to you anymore was Kevin.  You didn’t know what you’d do without him. 

Taking a deep breath, you walked over to where he was chatting with Moose outside of a classroom.  Moose bailed with a quick nod, leaving the two of you alone.

“Hey, girl, what’s up?” he asked, barely looking up from his phone where his fingertips were flying across the screen.

“Oh, you know, just living life as Riverdale’s very own Hester Prynne.”

Kevin rolled his eyes, pocketing his phone to give you a hard look. “That may be the most dramatic thing I’ve _ever_ heard, and I regularly hang out with the one and only Archie Andrews.”

You laughed, grateful when his lips curved into a small grim. “Okay, yeah, you’re right—I’m being a total baby about the whole thing.” You bit your lip hard as you heard someone whisper your name behind you. “It’s just—”

“I know—it sucks.” Kevin looked back down at his phone. “I’m still your friend, though, and I’m not going to put up with your pity-party forever.” He looked back up at you, his green eyes soft and sympathetic. “You cheated on the most popular guy in school for one of the most hated guys in the school—of course, people are going to talk.  If you really want to be with him that badly, it’s just something you’re going to have to deal with.”

“I know.”

“Good.” His smile returned, and he pulled you into a tight hug. “I still love you, even if you are an idiot, okay?”

“Okay,” you murmured, trying not to roll your eyes. “Let’s get to class, Kev.”

“Good call.”

You walked into the room together, taking your usual seats at the front-row lab table.  The bell rang, and a moment later, Sweet Pea walked in, shooting you a quick wink before he found his own seat at the lab table with Fangs in the back row.  You tried to ignore how it made your heart flutter, how you wanted nothing more than to be able to sit with him openly.

For a moment, you let the daydream overtake you—the two of you sitting together, doing absolutely mundane things like working on labs and filling out lab reports.  You could practically hear him cracking jokes under his breath when Mr. Barnes said something dumb—you could imagine the two of you stifling your laughter, you forcing him to pay attention.

Then, class started, and you felt your phone buzz in your pocket.  Checking to make sure that Barnes wasn’t looking, you pulled it out of your pocket to see who it was.

_Sweets: I think you need a night out tonight_

You rolled your eyes and responded.

_Me: you do know it’s wednesday, right?_

_Sweets: exactly. A mid-week weekend.  Wyrm has half-priced drinks for serpents._

You paused, not sure how to respond.  While I night out did sound fun, you had never been to the Wyrm, had never spent any length of time with Sweet Pea’s friends.  Your phone buzzed again.

 _Sweets: c’mon, babe, it’ll be fun_  

_Me: fine_

You could practically sense his satisfied smirk from the table behind you.  You’d have to tell your mom you were studying with Kevin or something, but Sweet Pea was right—you did need a night out.  Not to mention, you’d finally get to see more of the Southside than Sweet Pea’s trailer.  Even though you’d been dating for two weeks, and hooking up for several weeks before that, there was this whole side of his life that you knew practically nothing about.  You couldn’t lie and say that you weren’t curious.

A shadow came over you, and you looked up with a start to see none other than Mr. Barnes, his hand outstretched. “Excuse me?” He gave you an expectant look when you didn’t immediately react. “Phone please.”

You groaned silently, wishing you had the common sense to stick it back in your pocket before you started daydreaming. “Sorry, Mr. Barnes.”

“You can pick it up after class.”

“Mhm.” Sighing, you returned your attention to the notes on the board—you had missed more than you thought.  Next to you, Kevin was smirking happily. “What?” you whispered, trying not to sound too pissed off.

“Oh, nothing.  I just hope you at least got a hot date out of it.”

You bit back a laugh. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Part Two (and subsequent parts) will be posted every 2-3 days.


	2. Chapter 2

Double-checking that the lights were off, you locked the front door and stepped onto the front porch.  Luckily, your parents had decided to go out to dinner, so you didn’t have to face a million questions about your outfit and how inappropriate it was for your supposed study date.

With a sigh, you sat down on the front step and pulled out your phone.  Sweet Pea was coming to get you, and he was supposed to be there soon.  While you could have waited inside, even your own house was feeling stifling these days—your parents suspected something was up at school, and they were starting to get relentless.  You sure as hell weren’t about to tell them the truth, though.  It had been hard enough telling them you were dating a Serpent, and you never wanted to relive that particular dinner from hell.

The rumble of a motorcycle snapped you out of your daze, and you couldn’t contain your grin when Sweet Pea pulled into your driveway.  He pulled off his helmet, shaking out his hair and shooting you his most charming smile.

“Hey, you,” you walked up to him and pulled him into a hug.

“Hey, beautiful.” He grinned and looked down at your outfit approvingly. “Damn, babe, you sure you want to go to the bar?  ‘Cause I’d be happy to get that outfit off you right here and now.”

“Not too Northside?” you asked, stepping back to let him look you over.  You had gone for a simple approach—dark skinny jeans, a deep red tank top that gave you awesome cleavage, and your favorite denim coat—nothing too out of character, but nothing that you’d normally put together for a day at Riverdale High.

“Not too Northside at all,” he laughed, handing you a helmet. “Here, put this on.”

In the few weeks you’d been dating, you’d finally mastered putting on the helmet.  The first few times you’d rode with him, it had been nothing short of terrifying.  Since then, though, you’d started to understand the appeal.  There was something amazing about being out on the road, free from everything but the feeling of the wind—it was exhilarating. 

You hopped on the back of the bike behind Sweet Pea, and he took off.  The drive to the Wyrm was surprisingly short, reminding you just how close you’d grown up to this whole other world, this world that was still almost completely unfamiliar. 

When you got there, you took off your helmets, and Sweet Pea laced his fingers with yours. “How are you feeling?” he asked, rubbing his thumb across the back of your hand.

“Regarding what?”

“I don’t know.” He ran his free hand through his hair. “Meeting my friends, I guess.”

You pulled him to a stop. “Wait, what?  Are there more than just Fangs, Toni, and Jughead?  Because I’ve met them, you know.”

“Well, yeah, but you’ve never hung out.”

Slowly, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders and pressed a light kiss into his lips, forcing him to smile slightly. “Sweet Pea, I’m sure I’ll love them.”

His smile widened slightly. “I hope so, ‘cause they’re kind of my favorite people in the world.”

“Well, they can’t be nearly as bad as all my so-called friends who basically dumped me the moment we started dating.”

“True—they haven’t dumped me yet, so they’ve got that going for them.” He grinned and kissed you lightly on the forehead. “Let’s do this.”

Sweet Pea led you into the Wyrm, and you had to blink a few times to adjust to the dim lighting.  You didn’t know why you had assumed differently, but the Wyrm really was a bar—a smoky, crowded bar filled with tough-looking men in leather coats and few women who looked like they could kill you with a well-placed look.

He half-dragged you to the back corner where there were a few high-schoolers crowded around a dingy pub table.  All of them were wearing Serpent coats and had drinks in front of them, and it took you a moment to realize they were the same people you saw in school every day.

“Sup, Pea,” Fangs said, punching him in the arm.  Then, he looked at you, his smile soft. “Hey.”

“Hey,” you replied, shocked by how softly your voice came out.  Maybe you were more nervous than you thought.

Jughead greeted you more warmly—of all Sweet Pea’s friends, you knew him the best from before he went to Southside High.  After that, though, he turned right back to his discussion with Fangs like the two of you hadn’t even arrived.

Finally, there was Toni.  She gave you a look that you had no idea how to read and nodded.  Then, she looked at Sweet Pea. “I’ll grab you guys some drinks.” Without waiting for a response, she took off for the bar.

Sweet Pea wrapped his arm protectively around you, gripping so tightly that you had to shake him off a bit.

“So,” Toni said as she returned, handing each of you a cheap beer. “How’s it been, Pea?  I feel like we haven’t seen you around here in ages.”

You didn’t miss the venomous look she gave you.

“I’ve been busy,” Sweet Pea replied.  His voice was level, and you weren’t sure if he even noticed what she was implying. “School’s been a pain in the ass lately.”

“Oh, and you’ve been studying your sweet little ass off,” Fangs joked, shoving him. “I think I know _who_ you’ve really been studying.”

Sweet Pea rolled his eyes, and you chuckled slightly.  While Toni was verging on downright hostile, Fangs seemed to be willing to be friendly.

Jughead rolled his eyes, giving Sweet Pea a hard look. “It’s amazing how fast you’ve managed to make the whole damn school hate you for that, man.  And here I thought my dad literally covering a murder was bad.  You two make me look like a goddamn hero.”

Your stomach clenched, and you didn’t know how to respond.  Luckily, Sweet Pea beat you to it.

“Yeah, it fucking sucks, Jones,” Sweet Pea said, his voice getting lower.

“You know, there’s a pretty easy way to fix that,” Toni observed, taking a sip from her brightly-colored mixed drink. “Break up.”

“What the hell, Topaz?” Sweet Pea snapped, letting go of you to lurch forward. “What are you getting at?”

She shrugged. “I’m just saying, it sucks for all of us, you know.  Gives all the Serpents a shitty reputation.”

“That sure didn’t stop you from crawling into Blossom’s bed.”

“How fucking dare you, Sweet Pea?” She flew out of her chair to confront him head-on.  She was more than a head shorter, but that didn’t dissuade her in the slightest. “Cheryl and I didn’t _cheat_ on anyone.”

Her words seemed to ring through the air, and everyone was quiet for a beat.  Then, Jughead spoke up.

“She’s got a point there, Sweet Pea,” he said, pulling out his phone and answering a text. “We may be dating Northsiders, but even you have to admit that we went about it a hell of a lot better.”

“Jones, I’m going to fucking—” He cut off, realizing that you had bolted.

Pushing your way through the crowd, you practically flew into the parking lot, your eyes burning.  It had started raining, and everything was dark and misty.  You didn’t care, though.  You just needed to get the hell out of there.  Trying to keep your breathing even, you made your way to the far end where Sweet Pea had parked your bike and slumped onto the ground, ignoring the way the wet gravel immediately soaked your jeans.

“Babe,” Sweet Pea called, his voice muffled by the heavy rain. “Babe, where’d you go?”

You didn’t respond, not trusting your ability to hold back a sob.  Sweet Pea found you, though, grabbing your hands and pulling you to your feet.

“What are you doing?” he asked, seeing how wet you were. “It’s horrible out here, and—”

“They hate me, Sweet Pea,” you exclaimed.  Your tears were falling for real now, but the downpour was mercifully disguising it. “They literally hate me—they think I’m nothing but some cheating slut who ruined everything and stole their friend.”

“What?  No—they do _not_ think that, babe.”

“Don’t lie to me, Sweet Pea,” you said sharply, your words biting. “I’m not an idiot.  They hate me.”

He paused, dropping his hands from yours.  Taking a deep breath, he ran his hand through his hair, pushing the sopping locks off his face. “It’s more me than you.  They think I never should have even gotten involved with you.”

“Do you agree with them?”

“Fuck, no.  No, babe, I don’t.” He took your hands in his again, clinging to you. “No, I don’t.  Shit, I—look, the past two weeks have been fucking hard.  Everyone’s doing their damnedest to tell us that we shouldn’t be together, but I don’t agree with them.  These two weeks have been the best of my life.” His lips curving into a soft smile, Sweet Pea brushed your wet hair from your face.  “Honestly, babe, you make this horrible goddamn town feel like home.  I care about you so much—I love spending time with you.  So, you know what?  I don’t care if they think we’re wrong.  If the way I feel about you is wrong, I _never_ want to be right.”

“Sweet Pea.” Your voice was still heavy with tears, but you couldn’t help but smile. “That’s so fucking cheesy.”

“So what?” Moving his hands to your shoulders, he pulled you into a tight hug. “It’s true.  I really care about you, and I don’t care what anyone else says.”

“I really care about you too, Sweet Pea.” Slowly, you looked up at him to see that he was smiling again. “But I hate getting between you and your friends.”

“Fuck ‘em,” Sweet Pea replied, his smile dropping. “They’ll come around eventually.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely.” He sighed, holding you more tightly as he shielded you from the rain. “So, what do you say?  Want to get out of here?  You can spend the night at my place so you don’t have to explain to your parents why you’re soaking wet.”

You bit your lip almost hard enough to draw blood, the uneasiness in your stomach returning.  Being with Sweet Pea was so damn easy when it was just the two of you, but it would never be just the two of you, not while you had to live in Riverdale.  Granted, it had been some of the best weeks you could remember, but it had also sucked more than anything you could imagine.  How the hell were you going to keep this up indefinitely?

“No, I—um, they won’t be back until late, so I can probably sneak in without them noticing.”

_Liar.  They’re probably already home._

“Okay, no problem, babe.” He kissed the top of your head. “I’m just going to run in and see if I can borrow Fangs’ truck, okay?  I don’t want to take you on the bike in this weather.”

“Mhm.  No problem.”

He kissed you on the forehead and jogged off.

Your stomach had started to hurt again, and you had no idea if it was heartbreak, regret, or something else entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Part Three will be posted Sunday.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really am sorry for this one, guys. I promise it won't be this angsty forever.

“Alright, folks, new seats,” Mrs. Rogers said, clapping her hands to capture the class’s attention. “Everybody, grab your stuff and get up.”

Groaning, you shoved your book back in your bag and stood up.  English was normally one of your favorite classes, but the past few days had been downright brutal.  After your horrible Whyte Wyrm outing, you spent most of the next day moping.  You didn’t meet Sweet Pea in the closet, you didn’t study with Kevin after school, and you certainly didn’t tell your mother why you were acting so strange any of the dozens of times she pestered you about it.

Today had been a lot of the same, after a terrible night’s sleep of tossing, turning, and contemplating every choice you’d ever made, you just wanted to curl in a ball under your desk and disappear.

Still kind of out of it, you found your way to your new seat and rested your head on the desk with a heavy exhale.  A moment later, someone sat down next to you.  You sat up slowly, biting back a groan.  You didn’t want to be a complete bitch to whatever unfortunate soul was going to be forced to work with you for the next month, after all.  When you saw who it was, though, your jaw dropped.

“Reggie?”

“Don’t tell me you already forgot what I looked like,” he replied with a smirk.  When he saw your expression, his smile dropped. “Jeez, try not to look so torn up about it.”

“No, no, I’m not—”

“Chill,” he laughed, pulling his books out of his backpack and leaning back in his chair. “I’m not going to crucify you or something—the rest of the school seems to be doing just fine with that.”

You blinked hard, trying to hold back whatever it was you were felling. “Of anyone in this school, you’re the person who’d have the right to.”

“Damn, hard on yourself much?” He ran his hand through his hair, glancing at the front of the room to make sure you weren’t missing any important directions. “You’re not the first person in the world who’s cheated, you know.” He scoffed. “Hell, you’re not even the first person in this classroom.”

Your eyebrows furrowed. “What are you talking about, Reggie?”

He smirked and looked around. “Let’s just say, there are some big-ass hypocrites in this school if they think what you did is any worse than some of the shit they’ve done.”

“I don’t get it,” you said, tilting your head slightly. “Why aren’t you madder at me?”

He shrugged and pulled out a pencil to start doodling in his textbook. “Hey, I’m under no delusions about what kind of person I am.  Did you hurt me?  Yeah, no fucking doubt about that.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair to look at you. “But maybe it’s karma, you know, for all the Playbook shit.  I hurt a lot of girls, so it was probably about time I got some of it back.”

Your mouth fell open, and all you could do was shake your head. “That’s, like, the most mature reaction I’ve ever heard.”

“What can I say?  The whole thing between us has made me do a lot of self-reflection.  I really did mean it when I said I wanted to be a better person for you.” He smiled softly, and then his expression quickly shifted back into a smirk. “Of course, I’m going to have to be a better person for someone else now, seeing as you picked the Serpent…”

“Hey, he has a name, you know,” you laughed, shouldering him gently.

“Does he?  Because it sure as hell can’t be Sweet Pea.  I mean, c’mon, really?”

You laughed for real, amazed by how easy the conversation was, how naturally it came.  Even better, no one was staring.  No one else seemed to care that you were talking to Reggie—it would have been so easy to—

No.  You couldn’t let your mind go there.  It wasn’t allowed.  You were happy with Sweet Pea, even if it was hard.  You just had to hold on to that.

* * *

“Sweet Pea, you’re so much better at this than me,” you groaned, lying back on your bed so that your head tipped back over the side. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

He laughed and tugged you back on the bed. “That’s a lie, and you know it, babe.”

“No, it’s not.  You’re really fucking good at science, Sweets, and I’m just not.” You looked back down at your Chemistry homework with a groan.  Then, you bit your lip and looked back up at him. “So, what’s it going to take to get you to let me copy your homework?”

Rolling his eyes, he shut his textbook and set it on the dresser. “For you, my homework is always available.” Then, he snatched your book and set it on top of his, tossing your notebook onto the floor. “I don’t think I’m in a mood for homework right now either, though.”

“Oh, really?  What _are_ you in the mood for?”

Before you could react, he was on top of you, pinning you down to the bed with a grunt. “I think you know, princess.”

“Sweets, my parents are home,” you laughed, pretending to try to wiggle out of his grasp.

“So, you’ll just have to be quiet, then.” He lowered his lips to your neck, sending a shiver through your entire body. “I know that’s hard for you, but I think you can manage if you try really, really hard.”

You kissed back hungrily, arching your body into his.  He had your hands pinned above your head, keeping you from the contact you were so desperately craving.

“Patience, princess,” he murmured, running a hand down your face to your neck.  His fingertips were light, the cool metal of his rings shocking against your hot skin. “Just let me take care of you.”

You whimpered as he readjusted his grip, moving his free hand to the button of your jeans.  As soon as he released your hands to start pulling down your pants, though, you tensed, your mind suddenly filling with everything it shouldn’t.

“Sweet Pea, wait.”

“Of course, babe, what is it?” He sat up on his knees, releasing your hands.  His dark eyes were full of concern.

Shaking your head, you quickly re-buttoned your jeans and sat up to face him. “Sweets, we—I—I need to talk to you about something.”

His face dropped, and he slumped back, already sensing that whatever was coming wouldn’t be good. “Okay, yeah, what’s up?”

You bit your lip, running your hand through your hair as you tried to collect your words. “I think I need some time.”

“Some time?” he asked, his tone biting. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It’s just that this whole thing happened so fast, and I—” You cut off, looking up at him to see that his expression was a hard blend of anger and hurt. “I don’t know what to do anymore, Sweets.”

“Please, don’t fucking call me that when you’re dumping me.” He shot off the bed, grabbing his coat from the bedpost. “If that _is_ what you’re doing.  I suppose there could be some other meaning of _some time_ , but I sure as hell don’t know it.”

“Sweet Pea, please.” You stood up to face him, wishing you were just a few inches taller. “I just—it’s been really fucking hard these past few weeks.”

“You think I don’t know that?” he snapped. “You _did_ see how my friends are all giving me the cold shoulder, right?  Fangs is the only one who still talks to me like before.” He scoffed, his lips curving into a cruel grin. “Oh, but I see what this is _really_ about—this is about Mantle, isn’t it?  I heard you guys were having a great time buddying up in English today.”

“What? No, Sweet Pea, that’s not it at all,” you exclaimed, your eyes burning with tears that you refused to let fall. “Reggie has _nothing_ to do with this.”

“Really?  Reggie has nothing to do with this?” He barked out a harsh laugh.  “I find that really fucking hard to believe.”

“They just won’t stop talking!” you shouted, the pitch of your voice rising frantically.  You took a step back from him, grabbing at your hair and trying not to pull it. “Everyone in the whole damn school won’t stop talking about us!”

“And you think that doesn’t suck for me, too?”

“Well, yeah, but not the same.  You’re a Serpent, so—”

“So, I’m already a fucking outcast!” He shook his head. “Yeah, you know what?  You’re right, babe.  I am kind of used to that—it does come with the territory when everyone is making it really fucking clear that they don’t want you in their school.” His voice dropped. “I really thought you were different, though.”

“Sweet Pea, I am!”

“Are you?  ‘Cause it sure sounds like you’re dumping me because you hate being the center of attention.  It was just fine when everyone was talking about the shy, nerdy girl dating the star quarterback, but now that you’re dating a Serpent, God forbid anyone so much as look at you.”

His words felt like a punch in the gut. “Is that really all I am to you?  A shy nerd?”

“I don’t know, is a Serpent all I am to you?  A criminal?  A thug?”

“Sweet Pea, no, I—”

“Save it.” He scoffed, yanking the desk chair away from the desk to sit down and throw his shoes on.  “Whatever I was to you clearly doesn’t matter anymore.  I was willing to fight for us, but it’s clear you aren’t.  See you later.” He started toward the door, throwing it open and nearly running down the stairs.

“Sweet Pea, wait!” Not bothering with shoes, you took off after him.  You flew down the stairs and out the door, getting into the yard just as he climbed onto his bike. “Sweet Pea!”

He just shook his head, putting on his helmet and starting the bike. “Good luck with Mantle—the two of you deserve each other.”

As he sped out of the driveway, you collapsed onto the cold cement porch.  A sob burst out of your throat as you wrapped your arms around yourself, trying to keep yourself from cracking at the seams. 

Everything hurt.  Everything was cold and blurry.  Slowly, you dragged your knees to your chest, resting your back on the door behind you.  Your tears were flowing freely now, soaking the arms of your shirt when you attempted fruitlessly to wipe them away.

_What the fuck had you just done?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so, so much for reading!! I know I got off on my schedule, and I'm sorry for that. Part Four will be posted Tuesday, and the remaining parts will be posted every other day after that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, slight warning for this chapter. There is some underage drinking, and a man's pretty menacing to a woman. Nothing even vaguely graphic or explicit, but I figured I'd warn you.

He was gone.  Sweet Pea was gone.  You hadn’t meant for it to go that way, for him to get so furious, for everything to go so impossibly wrong. 

Really, you didn’t know what you even meant to say, what you wanted to happen.  This wasn’t it, though.  You wanted space, not a breakup, but here you were, alone, barefoot, and sobbing on your front porch.

You couldn’t possibly face your parents after that, so you did what anyone with a broken heart would do: put on a short skirt and dug out your fake ID.  For a moment, you considered dialing Kevin—he was, after all, your go-to expert on how to escape Riverdale via shitty clubs—but you decided against it when you considered the position you were in.  The likelihood of him having any sympathy for you was low.  Instead, you flipped your phone to silent, not wanting to deal with anyone.

Then, you started walking.

You had no real destination in mind.  All you knew was that you had to get out of the Northside, away from anyone who might recognize and judge you.  Unfortunately, the walk was long, much longer than it seemed when you were on the back of Sweet Pea’s bike. 

Just as you were starting to get discouraged, though, the streets got narrower, and the sidewalks faded away.  The houses got smaller and smaller, and the familiar Mom & Pop shops were replaced with boarded-up buildings.  You had made it to the Southside.

Pulling your coat tighter around yourself, you looked up to see that you were near a bar you had never seen before.  Deciding that it was as good as any, you walked in.

The bartender didn’t even bother to check your fake before getting you a cheap vodka-soda.  He did give you a strange look, though.  You hadn’t gone out of your way to look less like a Nothsider, and it showed.

“You’re not from around here,” a man said, pulling up a seat next to you.  His voice was low and smooth—he sounded exactly like the type of guy who could get you in a lot of trouble.

“What gave it away?” you asked, smirking slightly as you turned to face him.  He was hot—too hot—with messy brown hair and surprisingly soft-looking brown eyes.  His face was covered in slight stubble, and his smile was wide, welcoming.  The only thing about him that gave you pause was his coat.  It looked like a gang coat, but you knew that it wasn’t the Serpents.

“Well,” he drawled, signaling the bartender to bring him another drink.  Tequila—on the rocks. “I know everyone who frequents this bar, and I think I’d remember a stunner like you.”

In spite of yourself, his words filled your stomach with butterflies.  You may have been on the verge of a breakdown, but even you weren’t immune to the charms of one of the most attractive men you’d ever seen.  He was older, too, not a high-schooler.

“Yeah, I’m not from the Southside,” you answered, taking another sip of your drink.  It was strong, much stronger than the cheap beer you were used to, and it burned going down your throat.

“Oh, a Northsider, then?” His grin widened. “What the hell brings you to this side of town?”

“Needed some space,” you answered vaguely. “And Riverdale’s starting to feel really damn small.”

He laughed and tapped his drink against yours. “I’ll drink to that one.” He downed close to half his drink in one gulp. “I’m Malachai, by the way.”

You drank and gave him your name. “Good to meet you, Malachai.” Your drink was empty now, and the bartender refilled it before you even had a chance to ask.

“You too.” He gave you an appraising look, checking out your exposed legs in a way that made your heart race.  Something in his gaze was less than flattering, though.  There was something lurking behind those dark eyes that made you nervous in a decidedly bad way. “So, then, sweetheart, what do you need some space from?”

“A breakup,” you replied, taking another big sip of your drink in an attempt to steady yourself.  You could feel the alcohol hitting you now, lowering your inhibitions and your capacity for secrets. “A really, really shitty breakup.”

He laughed, finishing off his own drink. “Men really fucking suck, don’t we?”

You chuckled lightly, lowering your gaze to the dingy bar.  Absentmindedly, you fiddled with the piece of electric tape holding it together. “Nah, I think this one was on me.  Even if he is a Ser—uh—he’s a really great guy.”

“A Serpent?” Malachai’s eyebrows rose, his smile startlingly reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat.

Your head was getting fuzzier with each passing sip. “Yeah, a Serpent.  Makes me wonder why on earth I thought a girl like me would ever make sense with a guy like him.”

“What kind of girl are you?” He rested his hand on yours, and his skin felt like fire on your cold hand.

_Not the kind of girl who should be anywhere near a bar like this._

Quickly, you tossed back the rest of your drink, relishing the feeling as it burned down your throat.  The sharp pain struck you with the briefest moment of pure clarity. “I think I need to go.”

“Oh, come on, now…” he drawled, getting up from his seat and caging you in. “At least let me walk to your car.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” You quickly pulled out some money to pay the bartender, and Malachai pushed your hand down.

“This one’s on me, sweetheart.”

Your heart was racing now.  You had to get out of there.  Even if the drinks _hadn’t_ been spiked—you were starting to think they were—nothing good could come of being there.  You skirted around him, heading towards the door.

Malachai followed at a leisurely pace, clearly not expecting you to get far.

You hit the fresh, outside air and sucked in a breath.  _Think.  Think.  Think._ You looked around, hating your lack of options.  The parking lot had a few bikes and an old truck—nothing or no one who would get you anywhere. 

Still smirking, Malachai walked out, standing in front of you as he looked at the bikes. “Which one’s yours?”

Your eyes fixed on the back of his coat, and it was like everything was moving in slow motion.  You hadn’t been able to tell in the smoky light of the bar, but under the faded streetlights, the logo snapped into clarity.

Ghoulies.

Malachai was a Ghoulie, _the_ Ghoulie if your memory served you correctly.  The realization made you start to shake.  The Ghoulies were the Serpents’ sworn enemy, and your attachment to Sweet Pea would make you a target.

No wonder he’d been watching you the way a hawk watched a mouse since you’d said your ex was a Serpent.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” he asked.  The glint in his eyes left you no doubt that he absolutely knew what was wrong.

Before you could think of a better plan, you took off.  Your feet moved faster than your head as you sprinted.  Your breath was burning through your lungs, the alcohol clouding everything but the feeling of your feet hitting the ground.

Behind you, you heard faint shouts and the sounds of engines firing.  You couldn’t worry about that, though.  You had to find a place to hide.

Frantically, you slipped into an alley, running until you hit a chain-link fence.  You hit the fence hard, climbing as fast as you could.  The cool metal bit into your skin, but the pain was the last thing on your mind.  Somehow, you hauled yourself over the fence and directly into a dumpster.

“Fuck,” you muttered, trying to shift out of the wet trash.  The bike sounds were catching up now, and you had to keep moving.  Then, they stopped, and you froze, your breath catching in your throat.

“…the fuck she go, Malachai?” a male voice called.

“Fuck if I know,” he replied. “Bitch was way too trashed to hop the fence, though.  Keep going.”

The bikes restarted, and you let out a gentle sigh of relief.  Then, you scrambled to find your phone.  Again, your hands were moving faster than your head as you scrolled through the contacts.  Without considering the consequences, you hit dial.

* * *

 

“Jesus Christ, what happened?”

You climbed into the Corvette, happily taking the big coat Reggie offered and wrapping it around yourself. “I’ll explain as we go—please, just drive.”

“Alrighty, then.”  Reggie gave you a concerned look. “Where am I going?”

“Fuck, I don’t know.” You held your forehead, squeezing your eyes shut in an attempt to calm your pounding headache. “My parents are going to fucking kill me if I—”

“Come back to my place for a while—you know my parents won’t ask questions.”

“Seriously, Reg?  That’s way too much.  I—”

“Look, I’ve already picked you up in some random alley in the Southside, no questions asked.  Taking you back to my place is nothing after that.”

You exhaled slowly, relaxing back into the seat. “Thank you, Reggie, seriously.  This means the world to me.”

“Anytime.” He smiled softly. “So, do I get to know why you were stranded in an alley now?”

“If I must.” Cautiously, you lifted your legs, wrapping your arms around them and resting your chin on your knees. “I was trying to get out of the Northside for a while.  Really, I was trying to get out of my head for a while.  Unfortunately, I ended up at a Ghoulie bar too drunk for my own good.”

“Trouble in paradise?”

“Paradise?” you scoffed. “I haven’t been in paradise for a while now.”

Mercifully, Reggie let the rest of the drive pass in silence.  When you got back to his house, he grabbed you some clothes and directed you to his bathroom.  As you stepped into the shower, you were too tired to even think about looking around.  You just luxuriated in the hot water and tried to use as little of his expensive shampoo as possible.

When you stepped out of the shower, you wrapped the thick towel around yourself and walked over to the mirror.  Your makeup had run down your face, and you looked impossibly small in the huge, marble bathroom.  _You look like hell_ , you thought to yourself.

Moving a little faster, you brushed out your hair and pulled on the borrowed clothes from Reggie.  When you walked back into the bedroom, Reggie was lying on the bed, his dog sitting next to him.  He was texting, smiling at his phone as he scratched the dog’s ears.

“Hey,” you said softly.

“Hey,” he replied, sitting up to look at you.  You noticed that the futon had been made up with pillows and blankets. “Find everything you need?”

“Yeah, thanks.”  Grabbing your phone, you sat down on the futon, managing a soft smile when the little dog ran over to greet you. “Really, Reggie, thank you.”

“Anytime.” He set his phone down. “I wanted to ask, though.  Why’d you call me?  Why not Kevin or Veronica or something?”

You shrugged, grabbing a pillow and holding it on your lap. “Honestly, short of Sweet Pea, you’ve probably been the least judgmental since this whole thing went down.”

“Seriously?  That’s fucked up, you know.  The guy you cheated on should not be your go-to when you’re having relationship trouble with the guy you cheated on him with.”

“Damn, when you put it like that…” You sighed, running your hand through your damp hair. “My friends are just—they’re adjusting to the whole thing.”

He laughed. “As opposed to you, who’s perfectly well-adjusted and completely stable.”

You rolled your eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I’m a fucking mess, and I know it.”

“Aren’t we all?” He sighed, scratching the dog’s ears thoughtfully.  Then, he looked back up at you. “You know I forgive you, right?”

You blinked hard, not sure if you heard him correctly. “What?”

“I forgive you.” He paused, letting the words sink in. “I fucking hate what happened between us, and I really hated you for a while, but I’m just kind of over it now.”

Before you could come up with a response, you noticed your phone lighting up.  Kevin.  “Oh, shit, I need to take this.”

“No problem—I’m going to use the bathroom quick.” Reggie hopped off the bed and into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

You answered the phone. “Hey, Kev.”

_“Where the hell are you?”_ he snapped. _“Your parents called my dad and the Lodges, and no one has any clue where you are.”_

“Yeah,” you sighed. “I know—I suck.”

_“And don’t even get me started on whatever went down between you and Sweet Pea today.  Fangs told me that Sweet Pea was an absolute wreck at the Wyrm, and I can only assume you had something to do with that.”_ He paused, clearly expecting some sort of response.  When you didn’t answer, he repeated himself. _“Did you have something to do with that?”_

You sighed, dropping your head into your hands. “Yeah, that was me.”

_“So, that’s why you went off the rails, too?”_

“Maybe.”

_“Well, now you’ve got to tell me why—and also, back to my first question—where the hell are you?”_

“Kev, I—can we talk about this tomorrow?  I’m beat, and I really just want to go to bed.  I’ll call my parents and let them know I’m fine, but can you tell them that I ended up at your place?”

_“Yeah, sure, I can get my dad to cover, but only if you tell me where you really are.”_

“Reggie’s.”

The line went silent for a moment, and then he exploded in a torrent of expletives. _“How the hell did you end up at Reggie’s?”_

“Look, I got myself in a bad situation, and he happened to pick up the phone, okay.  Can we please, _please_ , talk tomorrow?” you begged.

_“Fine, yeah, but you’re not getting out of this again tomorrow.”_

“Okay, fine.”

_“I’ll pick you up sometime around breakfast—need a new outfit?”_

“That’d be amazing.”

_“Got it.  And, hey, don’t freak out too much, okay?  I’m still here for you, you know.”_

“I know.” You let out a long breath. “Thanks, Kev.”

_“Anytime.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Next chapter's going to be all kinds of smutty.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: smut

Your eyes dragged open, and the first thing you saw was Reggie splayed across his massive bed.  For a moment, you completely forgot where you were or what had happened, but then it hit you, along with a pounding headache.  Groggily, you rolled over, fishing your phone out of the blankets to see that you had close to a dozen missed calls.  A few were from your parents, but most of them were from Sweet Pea.

Glancing up at Reggie, you turned the volume down as low as you could manage before hitting play on the voicemails.  As expected, your mom’s calls spanned from anger to panic and then back to anger.  Sweet Pea’s voicemails, on the other hand, were an utter train wreck with the only constant being him getting substantially drunker with each missed call.

Even though you felt like you’d been run over by a bus, you managed to roll off the futon and make it into the bathroom.  Quickly, you cleaned yourself up and snuck back into the bedroom, praying that Reggie wouldn’t wake up.  The last thing you needed was to somehow explain all of this nonsense to him while sober. 

Within seconds of leaving the bathroom, Kevin’s text alerted you that he was there to pick you up.  Instead of waking up Reggie, you just sent him a thank-you text, smiling to yourself when his phone pinged.  The picture of you was still a cute one—one from when you were together.

Being as quiet as possible so not to wake anyone else in the house, you slipped out.  Once you got to Kevin’s car, you hopped in the backseat where he had a bag of clothes waiting for you.

“Okay, time to start explaining,” he said, turning around to give you a hard look. “From the beginning, please.”

You rolled your eyes and threw on clean clothes, climbing into the front seat when you were dressed. “From the very beginning?”

“Well, you can probably start with whatever happened between you and Sweet Pea yesterday.” He smirked. “Trust me, I won’t soon forget where this whole catastrophe started.”

“Yeah, I suppose you were there, weren’t you?”

“Mhm, and I was even on board with it until you started sleeping with him.”

You rolled your eyes again, biting back a snarky remark.  Then, you reached over and took Kevin’s hand in yours. “Sorry, I’ve been such a shitty friend lately.”

He shrugged. “Happens to the best of us every now and then.  Hell, you’ve put up with me through a lot, so who am I to judge?” He smirked. “You’re delusional if you think you’re getting rid of me that easily.”

You laughed slightly, squeezing his hand before returning it to your lap.  Then, after a deep breath, you told him what happened.

* * *

 

After close to an hour of lecturing from your parents, you managed to escape to your room.  There were a few more texts from Sweet Pea, and you knew you’d have to answer them eventually.  With a heaving sigh, you flopped onto the bed, holding your phone out in front of you.

_Me: can I come over? I want to talk not text_

_Sweets: k_

After all his long-winded drunk calls, each of which had to be literally cut off by your voicemail, all he could come up with was _k_?  What bullshit. 

You should have slept in later—the crappy night’s sleep combined with a killer hangover was doing nothing for your mood, and you’d need to at least start in a not-shitty mood if you wanted this talk with Sweet Pea to end in any way but screaming.

Muttering to yourself, you rolled out of bed, not bothering to make yourself look any more presentable—Sweet Pea had seen you in worse, and now didn’t feel like the time for dressing up.  Quietly, you crept down the stairs, reaching the kitchen and praying that you’d make it to the garage unnoticed.

“And just where do you think you’re going, young lady?” Your mom was already in the kitchen, her arms crossed over her chest and her lips pressed into the tightest line you’d ever. “Did we not _just_ talk about why you can’t walk out of here like that?”

You exhaled hard. “Sweet Pea and I had a fight.”

“I deduced that from the screaming and storming out, actually.”

Biting your lip to keep back a remark that would surely get you grounded, you continued. “And now he wants to talk.”

Her face softened slightly, and for a moment, you thought she might take pity on you. “Do _you_ want to talk?”

Her tone made you want to scream.  Your mom had never been Sweet Pea’s biggest fan, and she was making even less of an attempt than usual to hide it. “Actually, _Mom_ , I do.  Even if things don’t work out between us, I don’t want to end things on that note.  So, can I go?”

“Fine,” she huffed. “You have an hour.”

“You got it,” you replied, saving your eye roll for once you’d walked past her.  You had a good feeling that this would take more than an hour, and you sure as hell weren’t going to go running home when it did.

The drive seemed to take forever, and your anxiety grew with every passing second.  The past twelve hours had given you a lot to think about, and you had come to the conclusion that fighting with Sweet Pea fucking sucked.  Being with Sweet Pea, on the other hand, made you so insanely happy.  There wasn’t a doubt in your mind about either of those things. 

Of course, the fact of the matter still remained—being with him was the hardest thing you had ever done.  Sure, it might be dramatic, and you felt bad for even feeling that way when you knew he had been through things a million times worse.  It was still true, though, and you didn’t know if it was even worth it.

You couldn’t get what he said during the fight out of your head.  He’d all but called you a coward, and the worst part of it all was that he wasn’t wrong.  You were being a coward—every time you refused to walk into class with him, every time you refused to let him give you a ride after school, every time you sat with Kevin at lunch even though Betty and Veronica wouldn’t even look at you.

Before long, you were pulling into the gravel driveway next to Sweet Pea’s trailer.  You hadn’t spent much time there—a fact that you were now realizing had to do with that same cowardice.  It was easier for him to sneak unnoticed into the Northside on a bike than for you to drive there, after all.

By the time you knocked on the door, Sweet Pea was already pulling it open.  You were amazed by how okay he looked considering how drunk he’d been on your voicemail the night before.

“Hey, he said, clipping the word short.  The anger in his eyes was seething.

“Hey.” Your voice came out almost inaudibly small. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

Trying not to make an annoyed face, you walked in behind him.  You didn’t bother to sit down. “So, are we going to talk, or are you just going to glare at me?”

His fists clenched, he turned to face you. “I didn’t know you were going to run straight back into Mantle’s arms—I wasn’t fucking _serious_.”

“What?  How’d you even find out about that?”

“Fangs.”

“Jesus fuck, Sweet Pea, that’s not what happened.”

“Oh, it’s not?” his voice rose, and he took a step toward you. “Because it sure sounds like it—less than a fucking hour after you dump me, you’re back in his bed?”

“I was never _in_ his bed, Sweet Pea,” you spat. “Fun fucking fact, I was too damn into you while we were dating to even let him get under my shirt!  Last night was my first time in his room, actually.”

“Oh, so you _were_ in his room?”

You were inches away from each other now, so close that you could smell his achingly familiar scent.  Somehow, you managed to make your voice come out as loud as his. “Are you going to let me explain?”

“What fucking explanation could there be?”

“I was in trouble, Sweets!” The shout came out ragged, panicked. “I was in trouble, and I didn’t know what to do—I was drunk, and scared, and lost, and I had to call someone!  Sorry, I didn’t know who to call since the last I’d seen you, you were screaming me.”

That seemed to snap him out of it, and he took a step back, his voice dropping to a normal volume. “What the hell happened?”

You exhaled hard, trying not to cry as the memories of it all flooded back in. “I decided to get drunk at some shady Southside bar, and it ended up being a Ghoulie bar.”

“What the—”

“I didn’t know, Sweet Pea,” you cut him off before he could get too angry again. “I didn’t know, but I think the guy drugged me, and I let it slip that I just broke up with a Serpent.  I literally had to run for my fucking life, and I didn’t know who to call.  So yeah, I panicked and called Reggie instead.”

“Fuck, babe, I—uh—shit, I—you should have called me.”

His stutter made your heart thud relentlessly in your chest.  _Babe._ He had just called you babe.

“Why would I?” You had to wipe away a few stray tears before continuing. “Apparently, I had just dumped you.”

“Well, fuck, sure, but I still—never mind.”

“Still what, Sweets?”

He exhaled slowly, his eyes squeezing shut as his fists clenched and unclenched. “I still love you.”

His words were a punch in the gut.  All the air was sucked out of your lungs, and all you could do was gape.  Your mouth opened and closed a few times, and then, you sucked in a breath.

“Sweet Pea, I—what?”

His shoulders had slumped, the will to stand upright being sucked out of him.  “I love you,” he repeated. “And I hate that this is how I’m saying it, now that I’ve lost my fucking chance, but I love you, and I don’t even care how stupid it is.”

 “Sweets, it’s not—it’s not stupid, okay?” You closed the distance between you, grabbing his arm to angle him towards you. “It’s not—”

“You don’t have to say it back, you know,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I’m no idiot, and it’s not the first time I’ve loved someone who didn’t feel the same way.”

“Fuck, Sweets, I—” You lost your words, unsure how to convey what you were feeling.  Instead, you did the only thing that made sense.  Moving instinctively, you grabbed his shoulders, pulling yourself to his height to kiss him.

At first, the muscles of his shoulders were tense, his arms stiff at his sides.  Then, he relaxed, grabbing your waist and pulling you into him.  He kissed back hard for a moment before breaking away, his breath heavy.

“Fuck, is this a good idea?”

“I don’t even fucking care.” You gripped the front of his shirt, shoving him back onto the couch.  He fell back, pulling you onto his lap.  You ripped your shirt off, leaning back in to kiss him.  You were both acting on instinct now—he unclipped your bra as you started working his shirt off.  Within seconds, both of your pants were on the floor, and you were on top of him again, nothing but the thin layers of your underwear between you.

Your entire body felt like it was on fire as his teeth dragged across your collarbone, nipping and sucking hard enough to leave a mark.  You tossed back your head, moaning loudly as he sucked hard on the spot where your neck met your shoulder.

“Fuck, Sweets, I—oh— _shit_.”

“That’s it, princess, fuck, I—” He bucked his hips into yours, the friction sending shockwaves through your core.  “God, you’re so fucking beautiful.”

Slowly, his kisses softened, and his grip on your hips tightened as he rolled you over.  You fell back on the couch, and before you could stop him, he was on his knees, tugging your panties off.  He tossed your legs over his shoulders, gently kissing the insides of your thighs.

“Fuck,” you sighed, running your hands through his messy hair to hold him in place. “Oh my God, please.”

Smirking, he licked one slow stroke, and you bucked your hips in response. “Now, now, you need to relax,” he chuckled, his voice low and rough.  He slid two fingers into you. “Fuck, you’re wet.”  Quickly, he built a rhythm, curling his fingers inside you as his tongue worked your clit.

“Oh, fuck, yes, Sweets,” you murmured, clutching his hair.  Your legs were tight around him, holding him in place as your pleasure built.  You were already close—Sweet Pea knew exactly what you liked, exactly how to bring you over the edge. “Oh my God, I’m—” You cut off, your mind going fuzzy as your orgasm overcame you, leaving you breathless. 

Sweet Pea continued his ministrations until you pushed his head back, your eyes squeezed shut as you basked in the lingering sensations.  Then, you felt his lips on your neck, his body falling perfectly into place between your legs.

“I—fuck, I—you’re amazing, babe,” he murmured, his lips hot against your pulse point. “Do you want to…”

“Yeah, Sweets.” You nodded hard, cupping his face to pull him close for a kiss.  Catching your breath, you pulled back.  His cheeks were flushed, his eyes fixed on yours.  You let your eyes drift shut, taking in the moment—it hurt to look at him, to see just how much he cared about you, how much he loved you.  Then, you dragged open your eyes.  His lips were still brushing against yours, his breath light on your face. “Yeah, Sweet Pea.  I do.”

He nodded, pressing a soft kiss into your lips before rising to his feet to get a condom.  You watched as he walked, unable to rip your eyes away from him.  He was just so damn hot, and he wanted you, he _loved_ you.

He got back to the couch, and you scooted toward him, grabbing his hips to pull down his boxers.  He grinning, running his hand through your hair as you took his cock in your hand, stroking slowly.  “You know, princess, I’m always down for you to return the favor, but I honestly would rather be inside you right now.”

You grinned. “I think I’m okay with that.” Grabbing the condom, you tore the package easily, sliding it onto him as he bit back a moan.  Then, you grabbed his hips, pulling him back down on top of you.  Both of you shifted into position, turning sideways to lay back on the couch as he settled into place between your legs.

Carefully, Sweet Pea dipped a finger into you and moaned through clenched teeth. “You ready?”

“Mhm.” Pulling his head down to yours, you kissed him hard.  He slid into you slowly, giving you time to feel every inch of his length.  You gasped, your eyes shutting as your mouth dropped open. “Oh, ah, fuck!”

“God, you’re perfect,” he murmured, losing himself in his thrusts.  His pace picked up quickly—both of you were nearly ready to burst. “Fuck, babe, fuck.”

You wrapped your legs around him, angling your hips so that each thrust sent waves of pleasure through your entire body.  You clung to his shoulders, holding on with everything you had.  Suddenly, your climax hit, and all you could do was writhe in pleasure as Sweet Pea kept thrusting.

Within seconds, he followed suit, his thrusting getting ragged.  His jaw clenched, and he groaned, your name falling from his lips as he came.  Eventually, he relaxed, instinctively grabbing your hips so he could fall onto the couch next to you.  You were half on top of him now, your chest pressed into his.  Everything was hot, and you were both panting with exertion.

You let your eyes drift shut.  His fingertips were running down your back, covering you with goosebumps.  Everything felt absolutely perfect. 

Then, it hit you.  The fight.  None of that had ever been resolved, and you were still broken up.  Panic overcame you, and you slid off the couch, grabbing your clothes and starting to put them on.

“What, no afterglow?” Sweet Pea asked with a smirk, sitting up and running his hand through his hair.

“No, Sweet Pea, we can’t.”

His eyes narrowed with concern as he picked up on your tone. “Why not?”

“Because we—because I kind of broke up with you, remember?”

He blinked, a look of confusion crossing his face. “I figured this was your way of changing your mind.”

“No, Sweets, I—oh fuck.” You shook your head, and then your whole body started to shake. “I’m not.  Fuck, fuck, fuck, we shouldn’t have done that—I should _not_ have done that.”

Sweet Pea was off the couch now, pulling his boxers on and standing in front of you. “Hey, relax, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, I— _fuck_.” You were shaking for real now, and a sob wasn’t far off. “Sweet Pea, I still don’t know if I can do this—I need some time to think.  I just meant to talk to you, and I—”

He grabbed your shoulders, holding you steady.  Then, he pulled you into a hug, kissing the top of your head. “Okay,” he said tiredly. “Okay—take some time.  Do what you need to do, I—I’ll be here, okay?  When you want to talk, I’ll be here.”

“Sweet Pea, I—”

“Don’t.  Please, just don’t.  Just, please, don’t keep me waiting.  I—fuck—I don’t know how much longer I can take this.”

“I won’t, Sweets.”

“I love you.”

You sighed, breathing in his scent and wanting nothing more than to finally say yes. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well folks, it only goes up from here. Even I can only take so much angst.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!!


	6. Chapter 6

It had been hours since you’d left Sweet Pea’s trailer, and you still hadn’t quite stopped shaking.  Thankfully, Pop Tate seemed to realize that something was wrong, and he didn’t ask a single question as you spat out an order for fries and a milkshake.  Your mom had called a few times, but you’d rejected every call, opting to send her a text saying you’d be home soon, whatever soon meant.

You couldn’t go home, though.  Not now, not after _that_.  She would ask too many questions, and you didn’t feel like answering a single one of them.

Taking a tiny bite of fry, you looked down at your phone and sighed with relief.  Kevin was out of wrestling practice, and he would be at Pop’s soon.  For the next fifteen minutes, you nibbled on your fries, scrolling through Instagram mindlessly.

“Alright, what the heck did you do now?” Kevin asked, smirking as he sat down across from you.  His hair was damp and messy, and he was wearing a Bulldog’s Wrestling sweatshirt and sweatpants—he must have come straight from practice without even bothering with his usual meticulous grooming.

You rolled your eyes, pushing the basket of fries toward him. “I talked to Sweet Pea.”

“And?”

“And I slept with him.”

His eyes widened, and he dropped the fry he was holding. _“What?_ What the hell?  What happened to needing space to figure things out?”

“Good question.” You sighed and took a big sip of your shake. “I just—it’s like being around him makes any and all rational thoughts disappear.  And that’s not even the worst of it.”

“Oh God, please, please tell me you used a condom—if not, we’re leaving right this second for Plan B, and—”

“Shit, Kevin, no—I mean, yes.  Yes, we used a condom, and keep your damn voice down.” You glanced around, glad to see no one was in earshot except maybe Pop Tate, and you were pretty sure he was already privy to literally everything that happened in Riverdale.

“Okay, so what could possibly be the worst of it?”

Your hands clenched into tight fists, and then you forced yourself to release them.  Slowly, you lifted your gaze from the table back to him.  Your voice came out just above a whisper. “He told me that he loves me.”

Kevin’s eyes widened farther than you had thought possible. “Like, he actually used the love-word?”

“Yup.”

“Holy.  Fucking.  Shit.”

“I know.”

“So, what did you say?”

“That’s when I…well…”

“Oh my God, are you serious?” He started shaking his head, trying not to laugh. “The man told you he loves you and you jumped him.  Girl, you are an absolute legend.”

“Kevin!”

Laughing, he ate another fry. “It’s just unreal at this point.  Like, how in the world did you go from flirting on your front porch to fucking in a closet to dating to broken up and fucking in his trailer?  I’m just saying, it’s a lot.”

“You’re telling me.” Somehow, Kevin’s sense of humor, which normally would have pissed you off in these circumstances, was actually calming you down. “Thank you for not freaking out.”

“At this point, you’d probably have to kill someone to freak me out.”

“Well, no worries there—I have no plans of killing anyone.” Slowly, you smile shifted into a frown, and you grabbed a fry, nibbling on the end. “What do I do, Kev?”

“What do you want to do?”

“You ask that like it’s a simple question.” Shaking your head, you picked at another fry. “I have no idea what I want.”

“That’s a lie, and you know it.” Kevin sighed, reaching across the table to loosen your grip on the fry.  He held your hand in his, squeezing gently. “You know what you want—you just don’t think that it’s what you _should_ do.”

“I—”

“Nope, not done.  Do you remember when I started dating Joaquin?”

“When you started sating him or when you started telling people?”

“Exactly.  From the minute I first kissed Joaquin, I knew that I was crossing a line that couldn’t be uncrossed.  Regardless of how we were going to move forward from that, something would have to change.  And yeah, I get that we had a much easier start that you guys, but damn if it wasn’t really, really hard to date a Serpent when everyone thought they were the bad guys—his friends hated me, and my friends hated him.” For a moment, he squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head.  Then, he looked back up at you. “We never _really_ went public, though, since it was all before the school merger.  We never had to deal with half the shit you guys did.”

“What’s the point you’re trying to make here, Kevin?”

“Jeez, impatient much?” he asked, his lips curving back into a subtle grin. “The point I was about to make before I was so _rudely_ interrupted is that is was all worth it.  Even if he did have to leave, even if it did all go so far south, it was worth it.  He was my person, you know?  And he was worth fighting for.”

“So, what are you saying?  That I should fight for me and Sweet Pea?”

“I don’t know.” He gave you a hard look. “Let me ask you again—what do you want to do?  And don’t you dare bullshit me about not knowing.”

You bit your lip, taking a few breaths before answering.  He was right—you absolutely knew what you wanted. “I want to be with Sweet Pea.”

“And is he worth fighting for?”

“Yeah, he is.”

He smiled widely and popped another fry into his mouth. “Well then, I think you know what you need to do.”

A heavy breath escaped your lips. “I do—I really do need some time to decompress first, though—get my head on straight, you know?  I’m way too shaken up to go back and talk to him right now.”

“I suppose that’s allowable.  On that note, Reggie’s having a party tonight—you want in?  It might be a good distraction.”

Had it been anyone other than Reggie, you would have said no on the spot.  At Reggie’s though, you could be sure there wouldn’t be any Serpents, no one who would remind you of Sweet Pea. “Fine, I’m in.  I’m not staying out late, though.”

“Deal.”

* * *

 

By the time you got to the party, it was already in full swing.  Kevin always insisted on being a few hours late, and he was always right about it.  You quickly found yourself a drink—a cheap beer that tasted more like water than alcohol.  All it took were a few sips of liquid courage, and you were on the dance floor. 

In the dark room, you could barely see anyone specifically in the sea of bodies.  Everyone was moving to the beat, swaying and grinding in rhythm with the booming bass that vibrated through the house.  You lost yourself in the music, not even caring who you were dancing with or which guy kept offering to bring you drinks.  Not wanting a repeat of the night before, you declined the drinks, only accepting the ones Kevin brought you.

After what could have been hours or minutes, you slipped off the floor and into the bathroom.  When you walked out, you nearly collided with someone.

“Oh, shit, sorry,” he laughed, catching you by the arm to keep you upright. “Oh, hey.”

“Hey, Chuck,” you replied, managing a small smile.  Spending time with Reggie had meant spending time with Chuck, and you had seen firsthand how much of an effort he was making to redeem himself.  Even if you’d never really liked him much, you had to admit it was pretty admirable.

“I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve seen you out,” he said, leaning against the wall and putting on his most charming smile. “Not since you dated the Serpent, at least.”

You exhaled sharply, biting back a rude response. “Yeah, guess not.”

“But you dumped him now, right?  That’s what people have been saying, at least.” He took a small step closer to you, dropping his voice slightly as he leaned in closer.

“Bet they have.”

“Hey, it was probably for the best, right?  I mean, a girl like you, sure you fucked over Reggie, but fuck—” he laughed. “You’re still fucking hot and all, and—”

“Chuck, I’m going to stop you there.” You sighed, resting your hand on his chest to keep him from coming closer. “Whatever you’re going for here isn’t going to happen.”

“What do you mean, baby?” He smirked, pushing back against your hand. “Hell, getting back in the game might be good for you, and I would be happy to get you started.”

You bit back a groan, rolling your eyes. “No thanks, Chuck.”

“Oh, come on, baby, I promise it’ll be fun, I’ll—”

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Reggie asked, appearing out of nowhere to throw his arm around Chuck’s shoulders.  Reggie grinned at you, a knowing look on his face. “Please tell me you’re not hitting on this asshole.”

Smiling slightly, you shook your head. “No, Reggie, I was not.”

“Good—get the fuck outta here, man.” He shoved Chuck back toward the living room and re-fixed his gaze on you, his eyes narrowed in concern. “Seriously, did he try anything?”

You laughed slightly. “He may have been trying, but he sure wasn’t getting anywhere.”

He smirked.  “I figured not—even if you _weren’t_ obviously still taken, he doesn’t strike me as your type.”

That one earned a real laugh. “What?  Are you saying I’m not into semi-aggressive athletes with more problems than you can count?”

“I mean, throw Asian in there, and we just about cover every guy you’ve dated this year.”

“Aw, fuck, Reg,” you chuckled. “I hate when you’re right like that, you know.”

“Oh, I know.” He glanced over your shoulder into the living room where the party was raging on.  Then, his expression shifted to one of concern. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I needed a distraction.”

“Well, distract away.” His smile returned. “But if you need some space or anything, just let me know—I can unlock my room for you.”

“Wow, who would have thought that cheating on you would earn me VIP bedroom privileges?”

He rolled his eyes. “Just don’t abuse them—no sex on the bed, got it?”

“But the floor’s good?”

“I’m going to go get a drink—want something?”

“Absolutely.”

The rest of the night passed in a blur.  One song became the next.  One guy became the next.  One drink became the next.  The only constant was that with each passing moment, you thought more and more about Sweet Pea.  It had to be close to 2:00 when you dumped your drink in the sink, your motions clumsy as you stumbled into the back yard to collapse onto a lawn chair. 

Sleepily, you leaned back, looking up at the stars and wishing that you were anywhere but there.  You slid your phone out of your pocket, scrolling through your contacts and hitting dial.

His voicemail answer always made you smile—it was so obvious that he hadn’t wanted to set it up.

“Hey Sweets, I—shit, I’m slurring aren’t I?  Well, even if I am, I still need to tell you because I’m so sick of you not knowing.  Fuck, I—I love you, too, Sweets, and I really, really wanted to say it this morning, but I couldn’t because I’m a dumbass.  You already know that, though—it’s pretty damn obvious.  I mean, the dumbass part, not the love part.  But that might be obvious, too, so, I dunno.  Well, fuck, this is getting long, so I better hang up now.  Just know I mean it—I love you Sweet Pea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!! Next part coming on Monday, and the final part will be posted on Wednesday!


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, your parents put you on lockdown. If staying at Sweet Pea’s too long and going to Pop’s with Kevin wasn’t enough, Kevin dragging your drunk ass home in the middle of the night was more than they could handle. 

8:00 AM sharp, your mom threw open the curtains, tossing you a towel and telling you to get ready for church.

“Church?” you muttered, pulling the towel over your face with a groan. “We haven’t been to church in months.”

_“You_ haven’t been to church in months,” she corrected. “So, get up—we’re leaving in an hour.” Your door shut with a thud.  Then, it creaked back open. “Oh, and don’t bother looking for your phone—it’s mine for at least the next week.”

You didn’t even attempt to argue—even you could admit that it was a fair punishment for how blatantly disobeyed her.  Instead, you just slumped into the shower and got ready.  Your head was pounding—two straight days of hangovers was a terrible way to live life.

Once you were out of the shower, you sat down at your desk and pulled out your laptop.  Thankfully, your mom hadn’t thought to turn your phone off yet, so you could still screen-mirror.  Quickly, you answered a few texts to Kevin.  Then, you noticed a missed call.

Sweet Pea.

You clicked into your recent calls, and your heart dropped.  You had called him at 2:08 AM last night, and it had lasted close to a minute.  Slowly, the memory faded back in, part of it, at least.  You didn’t remember what you had all said, but you were pretty sure that you told Sweet Pea you loved him.

Panic overtook you. “Mom!” you shouted. Clutching your towel around yourself, you flew down the stairs and into the kitchen.  Then, you jerked to a stop, realizing exactly what you’d just done.  Both your parents were sitting at the table in their church clothes drinking coffee, and you were standing there panicking in a towel. “Oh, um, so are we absolutely sure about that whole no phone for a week thing?”

“What on earth are you doing?” your mom snapped, her voice low and more than a little terrifying. “Get upstairs and get dressed now, and if I hear another word about that phone, it’s gone for good.  Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Good.  Go.”

Nodding, you darted back up the stairs.  It was going to be a long morning.

* * *

 

Church, as always, was downright miserable.  It wasn’t that you hated church itself so much as Pastor Boyd seemed like a smug know-it-all.  Boredly, you flipped through the program, noticing that the pastor’s daughter was listed under the church staff, despite being your age. 

_At least my life doesn’t suck that bad_ , you thought to yourself with a smirk.

After an hour of going through the motions and trying not to let your hangover get the best of you, you were allowed to go home.  Once you were there, though, your mom had no intents of letting you off easy.

Clean the bathroom.  Sweep the kitchen.  Do the dishes.  Walk the dog.  Give the dog a bath.  Clean the bathtub again.  Vacuum the house.  Wash the sheets.  Dust the house.  Take out the trash.  Clean the trashcans.  It was like she had a massive, never-ending list of chores stashed away for this moment, and no matter how much you worked, it was never hard enough. 

It wasn’t until after dinner that you were finally given a reprieve and directed to your room to finish all the homework you’d ignored all weekend.  After a few futile attempts to read, though, you called it an early night instead.  There was no possible way you could focus on schoolwork when all you could think about was Sweet Pea.

~

From the moment you set foot in school, you knew Monday was going to hit like a freight train.

“So, your mom finally snapped?” Kevin asked, smirking with amusement as he appeared next to your locker.  “I have to say, I’m amazed it took as long as it did—you’ve been off the rails for a while now.”

You rolled your eyes and shoved your books in your backpack.  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.  My phone’s gone, she made me go to church, and I was on chores duty all day.”

“Any updates on our snakey friend?”

“Only that I drunk called him from Reggie’s.”

“Well, shit, that’s not ideal.  Have you talked to him since?”

“Nope.”

“Damn, girl,” he laughed. “Every time I think you can’t make it worse, you do—do you have any idea what you said to him?”

“What’s the only thing I could have said that would make this whole damn thing worse?”

“That you hate his sexy, sexy guts?”

“Ha, ha,” you intoned, turning to give him a hard look. “No, I told him—fuck, I told him—”

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Serpent slore,” Cheryl drawled, her heels clicking on the tile floor as she walked past. “I’m amazed you’re even showing your face after throwing yourself at Chuck this weekend.”

Kevin made a face at her and then looked at you, shaking his head. “No,” he whispered, but you were in too shitty of a mood to listen.

“What did you just call me, Blossom?”

“You heard me.” She stopped to face you, her scarlet lips curving into a cruel smile. “Serpent.  Slore.  Really now?  It didn’t work with your ragamuffin boyfriend, so you decided to go for Chuck?  And here we all thought you couldn’t sink any lower.”

“You fucking—” you lunged at her, stopping just short when Kevin grabbed you.  “You bitch.”

She just smirked. “Call me whatever you want, but we all know who people have any respect for around here.  That’s what you get for slumming it with the dogs.”

Fury taking over you, you slipped out of Kevin’s grasp, your fist leading straight into her perfect fucking nose.

Cheryl flew back with a sputter, grabbing her nose that was already dripping blood.

“Oh fuck!” You grabbed your hand, astounded by how much it hurt. “Fucking hell.”

Teachers were on you in seconds, and you were being led to Weatherbee’s office before you even had a chance to explain yourself.  Mercifully, you were at least given a brief pit stop at the nurse’s office to get an ice pack for your hand.  Then, you were sat down in the waiting area.  A moment later, Cheryl followed, a rag pressed to her nose.

Before you could even settle in to think about how you would defend yourself, the door opened again, and two more teachers were leading in students.

“Sweet Pea?  Reggie?”

“Hey,” Reggie said, barely registering how weird the whole thing was as he held a towel to his bloody nose.

“What are you doing here?” Sweet Pea demanded, sitting down next to you.  Like you, his knuckles were already starting to bruise.  Unlike you, though, he also had the beginnings of a black eye.

You held up your hand with a faint smile. “I may or may not have punched Cheryl Blossom.”

He chuckled, looking impressed.  Then, he looked at Cheryl and her bloody nose.  “Didn’t think you had it in you, princess.”

“That doesn’t mat—wait—what happened with you guys?”

“What the hell happened here?” Principal Weatherbee stepped out into the waiting area before Sweet Pea had a chance to respond.  It was the most pissed-off you’d ever seen him. “First period hasn’t even started yet, and I have not one, but _two_ fights to deal with?  There better be a damn good explanation for this.” He spat out directions for you and Cheryl to talk to two different guidance counselors, and Reggie and Sweet Pea were with him and the Vice Principal.

Sighing, you gave Sweet Pea an apologetic look and walked out to cross the hall to the counselor’s office.  Your mind was racing now—what on Earth could Reggie and Sweet Pea have been fighting about?  You and Sweet Pea were at least mostly on the same page now, and he knew that you and Reggie _weren’t_ a thing.  Maybe that didn’t stop him, though.  Maybe he was that insanely jealous and possessive that you being friends with Reggie wasn’t going to be okay with him.  You swallowed hard—the thought made you sick.

Sure, Reggie wasn’t your best friend or anything, but you weren’t going to cut him out just because Sweet Pea went nuts on him.  You couldn’t cut out guys in general for Sweet Pea—that was stupid.

“Excuse me.”

“Oh, shoot, sorry, Mrs. Klein,” you said, acknowledging her as she directed you into the office. “I was just thinking.”

“I bet.”  Mrs. Klein was one of the youngest guidance counselors—the only one who struck you as actually being young enough to even remember being a teenager. “Take a seat, and we can talk about it.”

“What is there really to talk about?” you asked, focusing your eyes on your lap where you were still holding the ice pack to your sore hand. “Cheryl called me a slore, as if anyone even says that anymore, repeatedly commented on my preference in guys, and I punched her.  Kevin tried to stop me, but he couldn’t.  I’m sure anyone else who saw could tell you that’s exactly how it went down.”

“That is the story we’re hearing,” she said kindly. “But I think there’s a bit more to it than that.”

You scoffed. “Yeah, it’s a long one, but I don’t see what that has to do with today.”

“Your name’s been coming up related to a lot of drama lately.”

You couldn’t contain your groan. “Of course, because you start dating a Serpent and the whole world stops.”

“That’s not it at all.” Her voice was so kind that you had to look up at her. “We’ve been watching things closely since the school merge, and as you know, there’s not a lot of students willing to cross the divide.  The fact that you’re one of very few who would is worth noting.”

“So, I suppose you know the whole damn saga then.”

“Language,” she warned. “And no, we don’t.  We’ve seen what ends up on Snapchat, we hear what people say, but we don’t, as you put it, know the whole dang saga.  I only know what I’ve been told, and no one’s told me how you’re dealing with it, how you feel.”

“I feel like garbage,” you answered, surprising yourself with your honesty. “I feel like I’ve screwed up so badly that it can’t be unscrewed.  I mean, even if I did go back to Sweet Pea at this point, our whole relationship would be tainted by how it started.”

“Tainted to who?  You?  Him?  Everyone else?”

“Good point.” You glanced up at the clock. “So, when do I get to hear my punishment?”

“Since it’s the first offense for you on an otherwise stellar record, you’re not going to be suspended this time.  Your parents will be contacted, and you’ll have a week’s worth of after-school detentions followed by two Saturday detentions.  You’ll also have to write an essay on how you could have handled this situation better and how you plan to change your behavior moving forward.” She held your gaze. “Is that clear?”

“Crystal.” Inside, you were dying.  As if you weren’t in enough trouble at home already—as soon as your mom got that call, you could kiss any last remnants of freedom goodbye.

“Good.” She grabbed a pad of paper off her desk and started writing out a pass. “Let’s make this an _only_ offense, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” you said quickly.  Standing up, you took the pass from her. “Thanks, Mrs. Klein.”

“Of course.  Remember, you can come by and talk to me anytime, okay?”

“Mhm.  I’ll be sure to keep that in mind if I ever feel a deep need to clock Cheryl again.”

“Maybe next time we talk _before_ you do,” she said, unable to bite back a soft chuckle.

“And that’s why they pay you the big bucks.”

* * *

 

“So, tell me, gentlemen, what exactly happened here?” Principal Weatherbee asked, his hands splayed out on the desk in front of him. “I don’t want to hear why or what excuses you have—I just need to know who started it.”

“It was me, sir,” Reggie said, his voice smaller than usual. “I picked the fight.”

“Is that true?” Weatherbee asked, turning to stare at Sweet Pea.

“It is, sir.”

“And did you throw the first punch, Mr. Mantle?”

Reggie bit his lip—the truth was, he didn’t.  He had sure started the fight, though, coming at Sweet Pea when he found him shooting hoops in the gym.  _What a fucking idiot._   He didn’t know what had come over him, why he suddenly felt a need to defend her honor or something stupid like that.

“I did, Mr. Weatherbee.”

Sweet Pea’s eyes widened, his poker face breaking.  Weatherbee noticed and turned on him.

“Is that true, Sweet Pea?”

Not wanting to question what he was being given, Sweet Pea nodded. “That’s true, sir.  Reggie threw the first punch.”

“And you reacted in turn?”

“I did.”

“Well then, gentlemen, since this is not the first offense for either of you, you’re both going to be suspended starting tomorrow.  Today, just to kick things off, you’re going to collect all your schoolwork for the next few days, as you will be responsible for every bit of it.  You’re also going to serve a detention tonight—perhaps you can use that time to consider if any of this nonsense was worth it.  Understood?”

“Yes sir,” Reggie said.

“Yes sir,” Sweet Pea agreed.

The two boys looked at each other, and Reggie managed a small smirk.  Sweet Pea rolled his eyes, returning the smirk.

Yeah, she was worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! The final part will be posted on Tuesday.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: smut

You were the last one to get to the lecture hall where detention was held.  Aside from you, Reggie, Cheryl, and Sweet Pea, there were a handful of other people there, mostly Serpents who were already half-asleep with boredom.  You took a seat near the front, a few seats away from Sweet Pea.

Mr. Clark was the ancient study hall aide, and apparently, he was also in charge of supervising detention. “Alright, folks—you know the drill.  This room remains silent while you are here.  You may work on homework, but no computers or phones allowed.  No sleeping.  You must ask to use the restroom.  Any questions?” When no one spoke up, he nodded. “Excellent.” With that, he turned to the desk in the front of the room, sat down, and pulled out a book.

You glanced at Sweet Pea to see him already slipping a scrap of paper toward you.  Keeping an eye on Mr. Clark, you unfolded it.

_no phone?_

Grabbing a pen out of your bag, you scribbled out a reply and passed it back.

_my mom’s PISSED_

He smirked when he saw it and wrote back a reply. 

_ask to go to the bathroom a few minutes after me.  he never notices/cares when people disappear._

You nodded, and he stood up, walking down to the desk to ask to go to the bathroom.  Mr. Clark let him out without so much as a second glance. 

It took all the self-restraint you had not to jump out of your seat and run right after him.  He didn’t seem as pissed as you thought, and you were dying to talk to him now that the emotions from the weekend had mostly settled.  The five minutes ticked by slowly, and then you power-walked down to the desk.

“Mr. Clark, can I use the bathroom?” you whispered.

“Yup,” he replied, glancing up from his book. “Hustle back.”

“Will do.” You hated how easy it had become to lie—you had never been like this before.  That was going to have to change back, regardless of what happened with Sweet Pea.

You hurried out of the lecture hall and down the hall to the bathrooms.  Sweet Pea hadn’t mentioned where to meet, so you assumed that would be where he was waiting.  Sure enough, he looked up as soon as you got there.

“Wow, that was, like, exactly five minutes.” He started walking, and you joined him.  Even without him having to say it, you knew that you were headed toward your usual closet.

“Yeah, well, I’m not exactly known for my patience.”

He smirked. “Trust me, princess, I know.”

_Princess_.  That was a good sign that he didn’t completely hate you for the way you had treated him.  You let the walk pass in silence—both of you seemed content to collect your thoughts instead of rambling.

When you got to the closet, he held the door open for you.  You flipped on the lights, pulling up an old box of what looked like soccer uniforms to sit on.  You exhaled slowly. “So, um, crazy weekend, huh?”

He laughed, not even bothering to stifle it as he pulled up his own box to sit on. “Yeah, that’s one way of putting it.  How was Reggie’s party?”

“A decent distraction—I didn’t sleep with anyone, you know—hell, I didn’t even dance with any guys, really.  I—”

“Did you mean what you said?” He cut you off. “On that drunk call.  I don’t even fucking care if you _did_ sleep with someone if you meant it.”

You bit your lip, and then, you nodded. “I did mean it, Sweets.  I—I love you.”

His eyes squeezed shut, his lips still pressed into a tight line.  He clenched his fists on his lap.  Then, he looked up at you. “Does it matter?  Are we going to give this a chance?”

“Do you still want to?”

“Of course, I do!” He flew off his box, turning to pace across the tiny room. “I want to more than anything.  Look, babe, I get that things have been crazy—I get that the past two days have been a shitshow, but that doesn’t change the way I feel.  If you needed to do all this to figure out what you’re feeling, that’s fine, but I’ve got it figured out—I _love_ you, and I want to be with you.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair.  He turned to look at you, and his pained expression made him look impossibly small. “If you want to be with me, that is.”

You stood up, crossing the room to grab his shoulders. “I do, Sweet Pea.  I really, really do.  I’m so sorry for these past few days.  I just—I was getting in deep, and I panicked.  I guess that I realized just how much I was falling for you, and it freaked me out.  It was stupid, and I’m sorry.”

Gently, he placed his hands on your waist, pulling you into an embrace. “It’s okay.”

“Really?  How can that be okay?  I treated you like absolute shit.”

He shrugged. “Well, do you think it’s going to happen again?”

“No.” You took a deep breath, taking in his familiar scent and letting your eyes drift shut. “Because I can’t think of anything scarier than admitting that I love you.”

“Not even dating me?  Saying _screw you_ to anyone who gives us shit and being a real-live, out in the open couple?” He cupped your face, forcing you to look up at him. “Because I’m sick of hiding it.”

“Me too.”

“So, this is for real then?  We’re starting over for real again?  No secrets, no hiding—you’ll sit with me in class and walk with me in the halls?” He smirked. “Maybe even sit with me at lunch every now and then?”

“Yeah, it’s for real.” Your lips curved into a smile, and you nodded. “I’m dead serious, Sweet Pea.  I want this.  I want you.  I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Slowly, he lowered his mouth to yours, capturing your lips in a tender kiss.  Your eyes drifted shut, and you clung to him tighter, standing on your tiptoes to get as close as possible.  His tongue dragged across your lips, sending a shiver down your spine. “I love you so fucking much,” he murmured, his lips still hot against yours.

“I love you too, Sweets,” you replied, not caring that you’d already said it. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“Me too, for all the stupid shit I said, for everything.”

“Let’s make this another beginning, then.  A _better_ beginning.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” He kissed you lightly on the forehead, and his eyes took on a dark glint that you knew all too well. “And how do you feel about maybe starting this better beginning off the right way?”

“And what would that be?” you asked with a smirk.  He had already moved his hands to your hips, slowly sliding them under your shirt to tease at the sensitive skin there.

“I think you know, princess.” Leaning in close, he pressed a soft kiss into your neck. “What do you say?”

“That sounds like an excellent idea.”

He slid his hands down to your thighs, lifting you up and walking you back into the wall.  You kissed him hungrily, moving your lips down his neck to nip at the bottom of his Serpent tattoo. “Sweet Pea, I know this has kind of been a big, sappy moment for us, but—” You cut off to press a heated kiss into the base of his neck, and your voice dropped to a whisper. “I really want you to fuck me with everything you’ve got.”

“Oh, fuck,” he groaned.  He dropped your legs, his hands flying to the button of your jeans to pop them open.  He all but ripped the jeans off your body while you took care of your shirt and bra.  Your hands were on him next, frantically getting his clothes off at just as fast of a pace. 

Once you were both naked, your lips slammed back together, his big hands moving to squeeze your ass as you moaned into his lips.  With one hand, you clutched his shoulder, and with the other, you started stroking his growing hard-on.

“That feels too damn good, princess,” he growled, pushing you back harder.  The painted brick wall was cool against your back, and you exhaled hard between clenched teeth as he moved to squeeze your breast, his thumb flicking over your nipple.

Your legs we already starting to feel weak—every bit of your energy was focused on Sweet Pea.  You stroked him a few more times, smirking when he tossed his head back to let out a low moan. “Babe, any chance you have a condom?”

“Not on me,” he replied through gritted teeth, “but I stashed a bunch in here last week.”

Laughing, you traced your finger down his jaw, pulling him close for a kiss. “Well, go get one.”

Unable to contain his grin, he kissed you quickly on the forehead before he darted off to fish a box of condoms out of a bag of jerseys.  He was back in an instant, kissing you and running his hand down your stomach to tease at your slit. “I know you wanted me to fuck you,” he murmured, kissing his way down your collarbone. “But you would you feel about a little detour?”

“Fuck, Sweets, yes,” you gasped, your hands flying to his hair to start pushing him downwards. “Please.”

He smirked, pulling his lips off your collarbone with an audible pop.  Then, he fell to his knees, yanking over an old wrestling mat to kneel on.  He hoisted one of your legs over his shoulder, letting his teeth graze along your inner thigh. “Stay still, princess,” he breathed.

You whined in response, running your fingers through your hair and gripping hard.  You tried to buck your hips, but he held you in place, teasing lightly at your wetness with his fingertips.

“You’re such a fucking tease,” you groaned, too weak with desire to do anything more than keep yourself upright.

“Just getting you ready for me, beautiful,” he murmured, his breath hot on your core.  Slowly, he lowered his lips to your slit, his tongue flicking against your clit.

Slamming a hand over your mouth, you tried to force yourself to keep quiet.  Your whole body was shaking, your knees going weak as his tongue worked through your folds.  You could feel your pleasure mounting, and you were so close that it almost hurt.

Suddenly, Sweet Pea pulled back, licking his lips and ripping open the condom package as he looked up at you. “Think you’re ready, princess?”

“Fucking hell, Sweet Pea.” You grabbed at him, pulling him upright. “I need you inside me.  Now.”

He rose to his feet, grabbing your thighs and shoving you back into the wall in one fluid motion.  Pressing his lips into your neck, he ground his cock against you.  Both of you were moaning, your bodies flushed with delicious heat.

“Ready?” he grunted, barely able to restrain himself.

“Mhm,” you replied, forcing your eyes open to look at him.  He slammed into you with a groan, and you gasped sharply—his size always shocked you, no matter how many times you’d been together.

He quickly built a relentless rhythm, pounding into you with everything he had.  Somehow, he managed to drag his eyes open, fixing them on yours.  You captured his lips in a kiss, biting gently on his lower lip and earning a fevered moan.  He kissed back hard.

Waves of pleasure crashed through you, sensation radiating through every inch of your body.  “Sweets, I’m close,” you gasped.

“Come for me, baby,” he replied, his lips still brushing against yours. “Come on my cock.”

His words had the intended effect.  You clung to his shoulders, nearly screaming as your orgasm ripped through you.  Breathlessly, you shuddered against him, dropping your head on his shoulder as you whimpered his name.

Groaning, he slowed slightly, slamming into you deliberately, loving the feeling of you pulsing around him. “That’s it, princess,” he grunted. “Fucking shit, I—” His climax slammed through him—his hands were clenched on your ass, squeezing hard enough to hurt.   For a moment, he kept thrusting, his moans softening as he came down. 

Slowly, he slid out of you, letting your legs drop.  You managed to get your feet under you, but you were still clinging to Sweet Pea, your face resting against his heated chest.

“I love you, Sweet Pea,” you whispered, the sound barely audible over his heavy breathing.

“I love you, too,” he replied, his voice just as shaky. “More than you can possibly know.”

“I think I have an idea.”  You looked up at him, your lips curving into a soft smile. “Does this mean we’re not going to fight anymore?”

“I think that’s really fucking unlikely, knowing us.”

You laughed, standing on your tiptoes to press a kiss into his still-parted lips. “You’re right.  But let’s be better at it, okay?  No more dumping people when things get rough.”

“Tell that to yourself, princess.” He smirked, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear gently. “People are probably going to be shitty about this for a while, you know.”

“But we’re going to take it on together,” you said firmly. “Regardless of what anyone says—and I mean _anyone_ , even our friends—we’re going to stick together.  Got it?”

“I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for reading! For a fic I never planned to write, I actually had a ton of fun with this, and I hope you did too!
> 
> If you enjoyed this, please check out my other Sweet Pea x Reader works.
> 
> And, if you really want to see Reggie have a happy ending (and some smut), check out my fic Pretty Lies!
> 
> As always your comments and support are so appreciated!!


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